A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy's Alumni
by The Pirates Muffin
Summary: Sometimes they come back....Freddy's children come back to haunt him, but will they be too late to save a new gang of Elm Street teenagers? Find out! Read and Review, please!
1. The Boy and the Light

**_A Nightmare on _****_Elm Street_****_:_**

**_Freddy's Alumni_**

**_Chapter 1-The Boy and the Light_**

~

            The boy with the brown hair and blue eyes tossed yet again, turning around yet again, and was unable to rest—yet again. It was rare he fell asleep too early, not by free will but by a means much greater. Every night the same; he would lie on his bed staring at absolutely nothing for what seemed to last forever. At night, anything was possible: time was endless. What seemed to last hours in the boy's mind turned out to only have been five minutes in reality. It was hell.

            But tonight—tonight was different. _I will fall asleep, I will!_ the boy with the dimples and slightly tanned skin thought. He was sick and tired (well, perhaps not tired enough as he would have fallen asleep by now) of staying awake in boredom. Besides, he knew perfectly well enough it was not healthy. His mother knew not of his sleeping troubles. His stepfather knew not of his insomnia, not that the boy with a mildly gapped toothy smile really believed his stepfather cared; they were never too close. But it wasn't just that. Not even his girlfriend, Hallie, nor his best friend, Michael, remotely knew. Sure, they could perhaps guess by the wide circles around his sleepy, light blue eyes, but did they really know? Of course not. Only he knew, the boy with the scar on his right eyebrow from as long as he could remember.

            _Fall asleep…please let me fall the hell asleep! he yelled at himself from within his mind. __Just a little while, don't let me stay like this…_

~

            It was the first in a series of extraordinary events, that night, as far as the boy with a handsome look to him even along his imperfections went, as far as Elm Street went, as far as all of Springbrook went. But of course, it did start with him, after all. And perhaps it may have ended with him as well, perhaps it never really ended at all. Elm Street was always a strange place for strange happenings, after all. There was always the boarded up house with rumors that seemed endless, and another house in which a boy had been murdered. Actually, the boy with the longish wavy hair lived next door to the old Lantz house and just one house away from directly across the abandoned one. It was his grandparent's house, his mother's house as a child. And he hated it.

~

            As for the first of extraordinary events, it was the boy who wore the same chain around his neck's falling asleep early that was so odd. Well, not necessarily early, but as far as the boy of nearly seventeen years of age went, midnight—was **very early.**

            But no—soon enough, something startled him. He glanced at the clock, struggling to read it. He figured he had only been asleep about a half hour or so. Much to his horror, it was not a number to be found on his clock but a simple two words the boy with the normally optimistic personality had never feared, yet retained an abnormally afraid manner.

            "I'm here" the digital clock read. How those words fit on such a small screen, he didn't know, but they did. Perhaps it was the sheer oddity of the words that gave him fear.

            "Who's home? What the hell is this?" he asked, not relatively looking for an answer (and perhaps** hoping** no one would answer) but merely wondering aloud.

            Suddenly, a noise rumbled, and only a slight turn toward the window revealed a sight the boy had not seen in his sixteen years of living on Elm Street. The light in the old Thompson house, the same boarded up house across the street, was on.

            The boy, slightly taller than average at six foot two, wandered through his house down the stairs, only to find the lights on in the dining room. And yet another house had lights on, the home of the elderly Lantz couple, now childless since the loss of their only son. Yet as the boy with naturally rouged cheeks peered through the window, he realized at least one light in every house excluding the one on the end was shining not brightly…but cruelly, as if taunting him. Why would **all** they be on at this hour, around one in the morning? Weirdest yet of all, at the same instant, every light flickered and burned out at once. Things were definitely feeling stranger and stranger, as the boy shuddered a cold chill although it was nearly eighty degrees. As he turned to return to his room, he felt a stabbing pain in his left shoulder, as if a hand with sharp fingernails was grabbing him.

            The boy, now paralyzed with fear, opened his mouth to scream—but no sound came out.

~

            "Wake up, sleepyhead," his mother's pleasing voice called, shaking him lightly on the shoulder.

            _Oh…it was just a dream, he though, relieved. He sighed. "I'm up, I'm up…" he replied, waiting for his mother to leave so he could dress himself. "Excuse me." Suddenly, however, the light shaking on his shoulder evolved into painful spasms of near strangulation, and his mother's kind looks of curly blonde hair and small glasses morphed into what was the most terrible sight._

            "What, SWEETIE, Mummy dearest can't stay to be with her **little boy?" a cruel voice spoke.**

            It was a man. A man with burns, a man with claws—no, knives—on his fingers…it was a man with the most ratty, old attire, and worst yet, the most cold expression the boy had ever seen in his life.

            "Wouldn't want you to **sleep in** too late—HONEY," the evil voice called again, and he began a cold unfriendly laugh, tightening his grip on the boy.

            _Oh God! Help me, get me away from this psycho—_

~

            "Wake up, sleepyhead."

            Kai jumped back, panicking. "What?! What do you want from me?" he yelled.

            "Honey, it's school time, that's what I want from you," his mother ignored his near shouting. "You'd better hurry, or you'll be late to pick up Hallie and get to class."

            Kai was still shuddering, his heart pounding furiously. "Okay…Ma."

            As his mother exited the room, he took off his night shirt to reveal dry, matted blood—on his left shoulder. He rushed to the bathroom, and in the midst of showering, a loud crash made Kai jump nearly a thousand miles. Everything this morning seemed to be scaring the hell out of Kai after that terrible nightmare. After "waking up" the first time, it was even getting to be difficult to tell whether he was dreaming or awake!

            _Calm down, Kai. __It was just a dream. Don't freak out on everyone!_

            As soon as he was ready, Kai bolted out the front door to his 4x4 and drove quickly to pick up Hallie and bring her to school. He sure didn't want to freak on her, too. Oh well, at least he wouldn't be late. Nowadays, anyone who was anybody worth knowing lived on Elm Street—Hallie, Michael, Tara, Damian—the works.

            As Kai knocked on the door to meet Hallie, she came down a bit slowly, as if nervous, but rushed down the stairs as soon as she spotted Kai, giving him a tight hug and a swift kiss.

            "Good morning, baby," she smiled, walking to and entering the ruck.

            _Good morning? Kai though, __Some good morning….well, it's good now._


	2. Baby Girl

**_Chapter two-Baby Girl_**

            "I dreamt about you last night," Hallie said softly.

            "Really? That woulda been a wet one if I dreamt about you…." Kai joked, but stopped when he saw a frightened look on his girlfriend's normally soft, warm face. She was a real pretty girl, at least in Kai and many other people's opinions, with wavy, light brown hair, much lighter than Kai's dark hue. She had sparkling blue eyes, as did Kai, and was quite short; at five foot, she stood over a foot shorter than Kai. But he loved her, and their love was one thing that made some of Kai's friends (and definitely his enemies) a tad or even more than a tad jealous. "What…what's wrong? What happened in your dream?" he asked, recalling a bit of his.

            She paused, "…nothing, forget it, Kai," Hallie replied sullenly.

            "No, Hallie, tell me about it. It was a bad one, wasn't it?" Kai asked, noticing more and more fright in Hallie's eyes.

            "Wha—what makes you say th-that, honey?" Hallie stuttered, now fighting anxious tears.

            "Look at you, sweets. You would have told me if it was a good one. And I know….because I had a bad dream, too," Kai put an arm around Hallie, holding her gently yet tightly. "You'll be alright, I promise. Just tell me what happened."

            Hallie gulped, clearing her throat and opening her mouth to speak, "There was this…this guy. He was, he was SO UGLY, he had burns and…"

            (_Burns?__ Shit, no.)_

            "…oh, he was AWFUL….are you listening to me?" Hallie stopped, looking at Kai in his eyes.

            "Yeah, babe. That's creepin' the bajeebers outta me…you know, the guy in my dream—"

            RING!!

            Kai was interrupted by an unexpected, shrill annoyance of the bell, making him and Hallie alike jump in surprise.

            "Come on, you two!" Michael, Kai's best friend, ran past, grabbing on to his arm in attempt to drag him toward class. It was of no use, as Kai and Hallie flowed anyway, needless of dragging. Kai and Hallie kissed each other goodbye for the while, and departed for their separate classes.

            Soon enough, the last class of the day was over. Well, actually, **not soon enough; Kai had been bored of his wits for one half and scared of his wits for the other. Still tired from the night before, Kai struggled to stay awake and seemingly succeeded, at least for a while. But no, it had to have been trig—not only the hardest class but also the dullest. He didn't care, he wanted to be a writer, not a banker! How the hell was knowing the cubed root of the square of whatever going to help him, anyway? He sure as hell didn't know.**

            As Mr. Clayton, the math teacher, droned about God knew what, Kai couldn't help but to doze off. He was sure plenty other people were, too. Zzzz…..

            As he struggled to stay awake, Kai noticed a girl he had never yet seen, so he assumed she was new. She was pretty, if just a bit…odd looking. She was dressed in all black, with chains and what seemed to be a black faux-hawk as a hairstyle. Not that her appearance would be that odd anymore, with the "punk rock look" the new fashion, but this girl…she looked different. She didn't appear that much a phony as did everyone else.

            "We have a new student, class. Please give a warm welcome to Taryn," Mr. Clayton introduced, only earning Taryn a few scattered hellos, but so be it. As Taryn continued in sharing about herself, Kai noticed Mr. Clayton—only it wasn't Mr. Clayton. It was the same man from the dream, with the same burns, same old sweater, same finger blades.

            "What's two plus two, Kai? I say we count on our….fingers," the man said cruelly. He quickly took out his hand, sending blades on Kai's way. Just as they nearly reached him, however, Taryn leaped in front, with switchblades of her own.

            "You leave him alone, Freddy. We've killed you once and they can kill you again. You're…done for," she said.

            "You're done for, nanana, teeheehee," the man—was it Freddy?—imitated Taryn in a shrill, high voice. "Remember, old **pal**, I have these," Freddy said, and much to Kai's horror, his knives turned to drug needles. "You…need me."

            Taryn gasped, shrinking back to the wall, "No, you leave me alone!"

            "Who the hell are you people?" Kai asked cautiously, a bit nervous, unsure of what could happen.

            "I am your best enemy. I am your worst nightmare. And guess what, Kai? I'm back," he said seriously, yet with a flair of snideness.

            "—Save yourself, stick with your friends, Kai—" Taryn yelled, but at the same time, Freddy lunged for her.

            "It's been so long, tough girl," Freddy taunted. "Too long."

            She fell to the ground. 

            "Wake up, Mr. Roberts!" Mr. Clayton yelled at Kai, nudging him.

            "Ugh!" Kai yelled, pulling back.

            _I'm okay…just a bad dream._

            Taryn was alright, too. She winked as she looked back at Kai from the back row. Finally, class ended and he was released from the hellhole.

            "Class was dull, eh?" Michael asked, slugging Kai on the shoulder a bit.

            "I guess so…what about that new girl, Taryn something or other?"

            "Are you mental? There was no new girl!" Michael argued. "Whatchoo smokin'?" he teased.

            "What?!" Kai said, a bit shocked. "What the— "

            "Nope, no Taryn," Michael replied. "Just my baby girl, Tara," he continued, giving his girlfriend, Tara, right next to him walking, a light kiss. "Listen, it's been great, but I've got hockey. Later," with that, Michael ran off, Tara following closely behind.

            Tara and Michael were great, well, at least, Michael was. Kai didn't necessarily care for Tara much, he always found her to be really fake, but oh well. She was not only Michael's girl but also Hallie's best friend, so Kai had to live with her. She was real light, blonde haired with small green eyes and soft featured, and willing to do anything for a shot at popularity. Not that she needed to, most boys would kill for a shot with her. But Kai definitely disliked her constant "taste changes" every time the style switched. Michael, on the other hand, was large and muscular and athletic lived for one thing, basically hockey. He was tall and dark with black hair, brown eyes, and tan skin, after all, he **was Hispanic. He was a great guy, just so long as you didn't insult someone he loved near him. Because he could kick anyone's ass—in a minute. Tara, his girlfriend, was the main person he'd defend, but it was amazing to Kai how little they had in common. Mike lived and breathed hockey, family, and friends. All Tara breathed was friggen shopping.**

            Kai continued through the halls, ready to leave school as the day was ending. Before exiting through the wide, red, double doors, he ran into Taryn once more. "Dude, who are you? And how do you know about this Freddy guy?"

            Taryn rolled her eyes, "I was expecting you'd say that. Look, I'll tell you what we know. Just…don't ask me why I know," she said. Finally, she explained all of Freddy's past, from the past, from Nancy, to Kristen, to Alice, and so forth.

            "So why the hell is he after me now? And you? This was years ago…" Kai muttered in disbelief.

            "Check your family slate, Kai. It ain't that totally clean."

            "How do you know all this, dammit?" Kai asked, now a bit frustrated. "Do you dream about him, too?"

            Taryn paused, "Well, not exactly. But you could say that."

            At that moment, Hallie passed by to give Kai a playful kiss on the cheek, "Who you talking to, honey?"

            "Oh, just…" Kai turned back toward Taryn, but she was nowhere to be found. She had vanished.

            "…no one," he led Hallie out of the school, linking his arm to hers. "Come on, babe, let's go."

            That night was great, well, for a while. Kai got to stay at Hallie's until her parents returned, which wasn't until around one in the morning (lucky Kai!). It was good to be on the same street, after all. So all Kai did was watched her fall asleep and snuck out the window when he heard her parents returning. _She'll be alright, he thought, walking carefully out the window, dropping from the roof and returning to his house. He was tired, but well, here's to another night without sleep.            _

            Hallie got out of her bed, restless and still not prepared for sleep.

            _Damn… she thought. __Kai's gone…she was a little sad, a little lonely. She was fine, though._

            Looking in the mirror, Hallie sighed. Her eyes were droopy of sleepiness, making her look much older and as if she had not slept in at least twenty years. She crept along the halls, silently as possible, afraid her parents were still awake. But something…something just didn't feel right. It was as if someone was watching her, or following her. She was even becoming a little frightened.

            She continued traversing the halls, now moving at a much quicker pace. Eventually, she began to move from a tiptoe, to a march, and soon enough a fully fledged run. The short hall in her house now stretched for miles, and miles after that.

            _No…this isn't right! The bathroom should be to my left, I would have reached my brother's room by now…_

            "Guess again, sugar!" It was him, she knew it. It was the same man from her dream just the night before, the same horrible voice. Before she knew it, a scream escaped her, a scream in horror, in complete fear.

            "Aw, honey, no need to be afraid…I feel like necking!" The man put his disgusting lips to Hallie's neck, creating a gash, dripping blood.

            "Get your filthy mouth off me, you freak!" Hallie yelled, tugging. But the more she pulled, the more he kissed her, the wider the gash in her neck became, the worse it felt. It was only too painful now that she could feel his teeth against her skin, crooked and misshaped as they were.

            "Oh, but don't you want to, sweets? Kai does!" the man, eyes gleaming, smiled a terrible, cruel smile, mouth full with Hallie's blood. "Yeah, I know, seems a little Dracula-like, doesn't it? I met him a few weeks ago, what a loser. Almost as worthless as that…that…" he laughed hysterically, "That JASON! But I know, I can't use all of his material…so I can just do this, simple as that," the man lifted his hand, armed with razor sharp knives…and struck.

            "Kai—" Hallie's eyes went wide, she was numbed with cold. As she struggled for her last breaths, her eyes went glossy blank—and she fell.

            The last thing she ever heard was the cold laughter…and the screeching.


	3. Here on Elm Street

**_Chapter three—Here on _****_Elm Street_****__**

            "…and may Hallie Marie Long, rest in peace."

            Kai was in pure shock. What could have happened? He had been there just a while before, loving her, protecting her!

            Michael hugged Kai, not speaking for a while, "She'll be okay, man. She's safe now. And you'll be okay. Look, I don't know what to say…I'm sorry, man," Michael said.

            "But you don't know what happened, dude. I had just been there, what—maybe an hour?—before. I was there and I could have saved her! I could have killed the bastard trying to get to her, and now it's all my fault!" Kai shouted, crying as he slinked down to the floor. "And I **didn't save her, what kind of boyfriend am I?" he yelled, standing up and pounding his fist across a tree. "She was so sweet, so innocent, and that bastard fucking murdered her!"**

            Michael stood, speechless for a moment of time, "I know, Kai…but it wasn't your fault. It wasn't Hallie's, it wasn't yours. How were you to know it would have happened?"

            Kai looked at Michael, listening closely, still with tears down his face.

            "I'll leave you for awhile," Michael said, and he turned around and left.

            Walking home was nothing out of the ordinary…sort of. That is, if you call meeting with two girls telling you about some torched maniac nothing out of the ordinary.

            "Taryn told you about him. She told you," came the voice of a girl no older than fourteen, no younger than twelve. "I'm sorry about your girlfriend…"

            "Who are you? How do you know about Hallie?" Kai shouted, waiting for whoever the girl was to come and show herself. "Show yourself, don't be a coward!"

            "…No need to shout, I'm right here," the voice came from behind. Kai spun around quickly, and there was none other than a young, pretty blonde girl with long wavy locks, wearing nothing but a nightgown. Why she was in a nightgown at one in the afternoon, Kai didn't know, but she was. Right behind her was Taryn, the same girl from class, yet again decked out in all black. It was definitely odd, seeing those two together, one all in white, the other in dark. Let's just say it was an odd looking pair.

            "Who are you? And Taryn, what are you doing around here…you following me?" Kai asked.

            "I'm Jennifer…a friend of Taryn's. Nice to meet you," she let out her hand for a shake, but Kai, wary at the time, did not return it.

            "How did you know about my girlfriend? You killed her, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU??" Kai screamed.

            "No, goddammit, ya moron! There's a funeral just around the corner, you think we wouldn't have seen it—" Taryn snapped back, rolling her eyes. She had a temper.

            Jennifer, a bit quieter, more patient, interrupted Taryn. "Taryn, never mind that. He just lost his girlfriend; he's probably a little shaken up—"

            _A little shaken up? Kai thought sarcastically. _Goddamn right I'm a little shaken up? YA THINK?__

            "—I know we were."

            _What the hell did she mean by that? Kai thought, but spoke nothing of it._

            "Kai, we didn't kill your girlfriend. But he did. Freddy did," Jennifer explained.

            "How do you know? Are you helping him or something?" Kai was definitely cautious, slightly nervous.

            "God, you're getting to be really annoying," Taryn sighed, "You sure are useless, aren't you? Don't be such a moron. Can't you see we're trying to help you? It's Freddy…that guy I told you about. You even saw him, Kai," Taryn said, trying to make him understand what to them was obviously an easy concept. To Kai, however, getting the facts wasn't that simple. Even years before, really, it had been difficult making people understand, let alone believe.

            "Holy shit, don't start that again! Besides, my parents never torched any psycho…" Kai said, losing his calm and his rebuttal.

            Jennifer nodded. "Your parents didn't. They're parents did. Years ago, all the families were avenged…except for two. Two of them moved out of Springbrook, two of them were never avenged. And now that they're back, there's one down…and one to go."

            "…me."

            "…you, yeah. And he's stronger now. He can get more than the children of his killers…he can get anyone, as long as they're here on Elm Street," Jennifer continued.

            "Allright, this is too much…so what's he gonna do, kill my neighbors?" Kai asked sarcastically, but the girls were not fazed.

            "My guess is he'll go for your friends first, you know, cause you a little pain," Taryn explained. "But it's you he wants."

            Kai rubbed his eyes, closing them a bit to think things through. "So, what do I do, go and…and…"

            The girls were gone. Once again, Taryn and this time her friend had disappeared. Kai blinked, now unsure of whether he had imagined the whole thing. Maybe, maybe not.

            "Listen, Michael, have you been…noticing anything funny going on lately?" Kai asked the next morning. He, Michael, Tara, and Damian were all talking a bit before school a few days later. It felt so different, not driving Hallie to school, not having her nearby. Aside from that, Kai was exhausted, barely having slept the night before, surely not enough to have dreamt, anyway.

            "Nope. Not a thing," Michael and Tara alike replied. Damian, rather quiet, said not a word.

            "You haven't met any weird girls, haven't dreamt about a…a Freddy Krueger?" Kai asked. Michael and Tara did not seem fazed, yet Damian…there was something in his eyes; something giving Kai the feeling that Damian wasn't being sincere.

            "Freddy Krueger? What the hell's that, a pasta company?" Michael asked, obviously clueless.

            Kai rolled his eyes. "Dumbass. He's this freak psycho, you dream about him…I think he got Hallie."

            "Nonsense," Tara said. "Some creep killed Hallie. How would you know who it was?"

            "Yeah, some creep got her," Kai agreed. "Some creep that killed her in her dream that goes by the name of Fred Krueger."

            "Listen, Kai—" Tara began, but Kai interrupted her. He couldn't stand Tara, anyway, he just wanted Hallie.

            "No, I don't want to listen. Look, I don't want him killing you guys, Michael, Damian," he paused, clearing his throat. "…Tara. Not the way he damn near ripped Hallie apart. So tell me…you haven't dreamed anything, have you?"

            They all replied with a no, but something about Damian…it wasn't sincere. Damian was extremely clever, and would have probably been able to word out a perfect lie, but Kai figured Damian had not given this a thought. Something in the way his voice quivered, something about the quickness he had to deny the dreams tipped Kai off, surely.

            "Well, alright…" Kai said, still not convinced but not wanting to make his friends think him crazy. Besides, it was class time. Once more, but in private, he asked Damian for the truth. Again, he was denied.

            Damian was a good guy, though. A bit small in comparison to his friends at only 5'7'', he showed that size proved nothing over courage. Only he, Damian, had the wits to stand up to bullies even Michael had never imagined. And sure, they had kicked the shit out of him, but that didn't mean Damian didn't outsmart them in the end. Red haired and skinny and looking nothing out of the ordinary, Damian was not considered "the man" to hang out with (which he relatively cared nothing of), but he was an undoubtedly good friend. 

            Well, class was alright. No Taryn, no killing, no Freddy. No sleep, at that. Kai was even starting to believe the girls, whoever they were, they sure as hell knew their facts about Freddy. Kai had his writing, Tara had her shopping, his step-dad had his alcohol…they had Freddy. Well, everyone's got to know about something.

            Later on, walking home, Kai took the long way, through the playground. He didn't completely choose to, but it was as if something drawing him to it. There were some girls jump roping in the park…to the Freddy song.

            _Note to self: Avoid these kids._

            There was also a game of baseball going on. He didn't know why, but Kai felt he had to talk to them. He just had to.

            He trampled up the field to speak with the team at bat while benched. Oh yeah, and he tripped along the way, but hey, at least he got there.

            "He's an athlete, isn't he?" the boy next to him said, pointing to the boy at bat. "Ron Grady," he said, shaking Kai's hand. "Team captain, most guys just call me Grady."

            Kai nodded, introducing himself. Grady was tall, just a bit taller than Kai himself, and handsome with a dark tone to him. He had medium length brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin. Average, in a way. He was definitely built for sports. Grady further introduced the other guys, there was a Phil, two Erics, a Joey, a Mark, tons of guys, and all…vaguely familiar.

            "This fine gentleman next to me is Rick Johnson, great guy," Grady continued, pointing to an average sized guy with a warm, open face.

            "Hey," he waved.

            "…And the athlete over there is Glen Lantz." Grady said, pointing.

            _Glen Lantz? Now, surely, that one was familiar._

            "Is he related to the old Lantz couple?" Kai asked, "I live next door to them."

            Grady paused, not speaking a word. Finally, he shrugged. "They've met."

            Kai dared not ask more in fear of sounding nosy. He knew the Lantz's had only one boy, murdered years ago, but he couldn't remember the boy's name. Besides, it wasn't like there was only one Lantz family in the whole world.

            Glen was a small guy, maybe around 5'9, but he looked fast. He looked smart, and his handsome face was friendly; he looked like a nice guy. Kai figured he could have any girl he wanted, he just looked like that. One of those too perfect guys, you know? Glen waved, and went back to his game.

            "What school are you all from?" Kai asked. He didn't recognize any of them. Definitely not Springbrook High.

            "Springbrook High."

            _No fuckin' way. Hell no._

            "Really?" Kai asked suspiciously, "I've never seen any of you there…"

            "We're from around," Grady assured.

            "Alright…well, I'd better get going," Kai said, standing up and waving. "Nice meeting everyone."

            The guys smiled, they were quite friendly, like a good group of kids. A little weird, but nice.

            As Kai left the park, he turned back one last time to look—but they were all nowhere to be found. All that was left were the little girls.

            Kai squinted, unsure of what he was seeing. Or unsure of what he was not seeing, more like it. Boy, people sure did a hell of a job at playing the disappearing act nowadays, didn't they? And it seemed as if the more time progressed, the stranger things seemed to get. And who the hell were all these people, anyway? In the last, what, two days, Kai had met more new people than ever in his life!

            He continued walking home, sure he would probably run into at least one more new person before he reached his house. But he was wrong. It amazed him, really, but he actually was able to get home in peace! Now, it was at home that was an issue. Sitting on Kai's front porch was none other than a small black girl, wearing huge glasses over a bony, thin face, and decked out in ten times oversized overalls.

            "I was expecting this…" Kai started. "Who are you? And what do all you people want with me, anyway?" He panted, having run home and now was without patience. He mindlessly ignored her of any answer and bolted through the front door. It was no use. As he ran up to his room, he noticed she was already there.

            "The name's Sheila, since you asked. And all we want is to help you," she said, turning toward the door and starting to leave. "But since you don't want it…"

            "No! Wait!" Kai yelled, but it was too late. Just as the others had, she disappeared out of nowhere.__


	4. Michael

Chapter four—Michael

            _Well, this is a rare sight, thought Kai sarcastically. _Tara___'s in a bad mood. I've never seen this before._

            As it was, Michael and Tara were not the greatest of friends at the time. There were fighting the fight they fought perhaps weekly, only this time it was much worse. Naturally, as he hated Tara, Kai was only too complied to side with Michael. And maybe they still did love each other, actually, Kai was positive they still did, but at the time they felt sickened with despisation. Of course, the fight was over something nonsensical and stupid…then again, had it not been, would they have fought at all? Kai didn't think so…Tara wasn't smart enough to have fought over something useful (not that anything was), or at least, something intelligent. Hell, Kai didn't know what Michael saw in her. He really didn't.

            "Oh, fuck you, Michael!" Tara yelled angrily, storming away in her anger. Boy, she thought she had gotten him good, she really did.

            "Fuck me? I wish you could all fuck me! I wish I could fuck you too, but that's not going to happen, now is it, Tara?" Michael retaliated. Oh yeah, he was pissed. You didn't want to get Michael pissed, either; as nice a guy he normally was, he had a quick temper and could be quick to say irrational comments if provoked.

            Now it was Tara's turn to be in shock. Not that Michael ever was, but Tara definitely was speechless, causing the next words to escape her mouth to be simple, yet more powerful than nearly and more complex, intricate insult. Tara was lucky, in her own little sense, that these words were so simple, because Kai doubted she would have been able to string along anything better. "I hate you, Michael. I hate you," she began to leave.

            "Oh, cry me a fucking river, Tara! Go to hell!" Michael finished. Tara ran off crying. "I swear, man, if it had been a normal fight, I wouldn't have gotten so pissed. But it was about a stupid paper I was supposed to have helped her on!"

            "You're better off without her, man," Kai said, trying to help Michael feel better, or at least, calm down. Sure wasn't working.

            "Yeah…I guess so," Michael slumped down, obviously not convinced.

            "Besides, she's a complete moron and—" Kai paused as he saw a long face on Michael. It was new, really; it was the first time that Kai really saw how much Michael cared about her. "I don't want to trash talk her. I'll just…I'll just let you be," he said, also leaving.

            "No, don't go!" Michael said, as if he'd be lonely or something. "Don't leave me, you're my best friend, I need you for just friggen once. Stay…just a little while."

            Kai nodded. "Alright."

            "Kai, I've got tot tell you something," Michael said, a bit softly.

            "Yeah?"

            "These dreams you were talking about. I've been having them, too. I know what you're talking about. But, well, you know Tara, she hates it when I side with you…and I didn't want her to think I was completely nuts or something. But I think…I think he's trying to kill me," Michael gulped. Wow, and Kai had thought Michael fearless. But of course, was there really such a thing? Surely no one could be genuinely fearless…everyone had their own little quirks…even Freddy.

            Now, this was a thought. If only Kai knew a bit more…and for that, he needed Taryn. Or Jennifer. Or Sheila, or whoever was left. Hell, Kai had the feeling that the whole baseball team knew…but how? How could so many people know without Kai being informed until just recently? Was he really that clueless, that naïve?

            _No…it's because he's back. And these kids, whoever the hell they were, they probably all knew each other. And **that's**__ how the stories got around._

            "Listen, Michael," Kai began. "This bastard got Hallie. Now he's after me, he's after you. We've gotta do something," Kai paused, thinking. Suddenly, and idea struck him. "Hey, you remember the stories of the Lantz kid, and his friends and how his girlfriend watched him die?"

            "Yeah, Glen."

            _I did not just hear that._

            "What about him?" Michael continued, intrigued.

            "I think Freddy got him—got them."

            "Kai, he's not real," Michael argued.

            "What? But you were just— "

            "No, he's not." Yup, his defenses had risen. He was Mister Tough Guy yet again. "It's probably just a coincidence I dreamed about him, maybe just cause I heard you talking about him."

            "Michael…what the hell are you talking about, you moron? You know he's real; you saw him. You Goddamn admitted it, don't you go saying you didn't," Kai said, his temper rising, but still wanting to stay calm.

            "No, Kai, he's not real," Michael repeated, trying to prove a point, but not really succeeding, only continuing at making Kai even angrier. "You know what? I've got it! We're both crazy, that's it. This is unfucking real, no chance in hell," Michael argued.

            Kai continued reasoning but eventually gave up, "You know what, forget it. Just forget it," he said, storming out. "Just watch your fucking back."

            He left. After all, who cared about Tara, now?

            Michael was in hell, seriously. Tara hated him. Now Kai probably hated him. And Damian, well, Damian wouldn't argue, that's for sure. But Damian wouldn't help, either, because all he'd do is agree. Worst of it, he **was having nightmares. But no…_Stop it, Mike, he told himself. __Dreams can't hurt you._**

            Michael trembled a bit and gripped the computer desk in his room, trying to think. He was crazy, surely he was.

            "Tara…" Michael sighed depressingly. He knew the thing, he would give her a call, send her some flowers, anything, everything! Whatever; he just missed her.

            Picking up the phone (one of the most difficult things ever at the time), he dialed quickly without noticing the misdialed seven in contrast to a four. Yet he waited.

            "Augh! Augh!" the screams of a beaten woman sounded, intriguing Michael to listen further, his heart pounding.

            _Tara__!_

            The screams, the brutal beating continued. Alas, it was not Tara, thank God. Michael slammed down the phone in horror. _I'll never make that mistake again, he thought, laughing nervously in relief._

            He panted, not redialing until he was calmed down. Finally, he took a deep breath and carefully dialed, "Calm down, Michael, you're a friggen nervous wreck," he told himself.

            One ring, no answer. Two rings, the same. Actually, Michael was near hanging up when finally someone answered. Too bad he didn't.

            "She's outside fucking the pool boy, Mikey. Try again next lifetime," the voice snarled, turning into a hysterical laugh. And the SCREECHING, oh, that horrible screeching!

            Michael pulled the phone off his ear, holding it in front of him, staring as if trying to figure what could possibly have gone wrong. Suddenly, from the floor, he felt the phone cord emerge to wrap around his leg, tugging him, nearly clawing to bring him down.

            "Help! Please help!"

            "—Michael, Michael…" he heard. It was his mother. ""Michael, wake up!"

            He bolted up, turning to realize he had fallen asleep at his computer desk. "Oh…Mama…I guess I fell asleep.

            His mother, Elena, nodded, "I guess so. Honey, you were screaming, are you alright?" she asked, with a genuine look of worry on her face.

            "Oh yeah, I'm fine, Mama. No te preocupes," he told her. Mainly at home, all Michael and his mother spoke to each other was Spanish. His father, however, Mexican born but raised in America, spoke little as a result of no practice. By his name, Michael, people rarely believed him Hispanic, but he was teased often. And boy, did he hate it. He hated the racism against his family, a wealth enough family always being ridiculed and told that they "must have robbed a bank or something." So many words of disgust. As if all Mexicans were shit, were poor, the lowest of the low; that's how they treated him. He was disgusted that nowadays, even with people making such a big deal about racism, they still practiced it behind their own backs.

            "Bueno, sueña bien, mi amor. Te quiero," his mother said, leaving the room.

            Michael stared once again at the phone, demonic as it had been. But of course, it made no move, just lying motionless, as if taunting him. _Come and get me, Michael, I'd take ya, it said to him. Well, not really, but he could imagine it._

            Michael flopped onto his bed. He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. Not tonight. Not tomorrow, or the day after that, or any time remotely soon. But he had hockey, he needed his rest…actually, what he needed was hockey. Get his mind off all this madness, or something.

            SLAP!

            Michael hit the puck fast and hard, slamming it all the way across the ice rink. It cleanly hit the net, bouncing off and pulling a stop soon enough. Finally, Michael was at peace with himself; at least for a little while, anyway. He was all alone and he was playing hockey. What more could he want, here and now?

            He glanced at the clock, but it was pointless. The timer only worked for games, not actual time. Oh well, he wouldn't stay too long. He continued taking his shots from different angles, different distance, not missing a single one. Definitely, when he had something on his mind, he played ten times faster, worked ten times harder, was ten times more brutal. He could just feel the power coming from him, and he liked it.

            "Hey there, little Michael!" the cruel voice, same as he had heard on the phone and in the dreams, called. "Having FUN?"

            It was him; it had to be. Michael spun around, searching for Freddy, as Kai had called him. "Where the hell are you?" he said, yelling but not finding anything. Not really **wanting** to find anything was more like it.

            Suddenly, he heard pounding from the stands behind the glass, and booing as if there were millions of viewers instead of none. And, yes, there they were! Thousands of people, all watching him, eyes on Michael. But there was something wrong with them….something odd. They didn't look as lively as real people; they were a little more animated.

            Finally, Michael spotted him—Freddy. He was as usual, pounding on the glass, "More blood, more blood to the game!" Freddy smiled viciously. "Look, I brought the whole crew with me! Even Hallie's here!" He pulled out a figure from next to him. "See?"

            It was Hallie—or what was left of Hallie. The figure was too mutilated, too brutal to be Hallie, once beautiful, so young and so full of life. Blood leaked from the corpse's neck; the eyes were open but glassy; there was no life to it. It was horrible.

            Michael was so petrified he nearly missed hearing the buzzer. Time out.


End file.
